‘Made in Britain’ remains great selling point for British products

Following the UK’s EU referendum vote, 61% of international business leaders say it won’t have any impact on the way they do business with UK entrepreneurs, according to new Barclays research. In addition, 84% believe UK products and services will continue to offer good value, three quarters (76%) say they are confident that Britain will have a solid plan in place, while the ‘Made In Britain’ brand is a highly attractive for 74%. A further 60% say Brexit will actually improve their trade dealings with British companies.

The study, which interviewed 1,350 business leaders around the world on their perceptions of British entrepreneurs and their experiences trading with UK scale ups, found that four fifths (78%) of overseas business leaders think the UK is a good place to start a business, with Brazil (88%), the US (85%) and China (84%) most optimistic about Britain’s potential. This fell dramatically, however, in the views of Germany (64%) and France (68%).

A further 79% of those polled consider the UK’s start up scene as an important global growth business hub for entrepreneurs and four fifths (82%) would consider investing in a UK start up.

British entrepreneurs are described by overseas business leaders as reliable (53%), smart (50%) and polite (50%) but fall short on passion and inspiration (both 29%). Meanwhile the UK’s top attributes are that they are well educated (51%) and committed to delivering high quality (44%).

Worryingly, UK entrepreneurs could be missing out to overseas counterparts at a time when competitive advantage is vital, says Barclays. Two fifths of international business leaders (44%) admit that Brexit may reduce their trade with the UK in the future, and point to the US and Germany as examples that Britain could better emulate in trade and negotiation skills.

When asked what would encourage them to do more trade with companies in the UK, nearly half (47%) say Brits need to show greater differentiation and innovation in products and services. Other factors include a need for more face to face communication (47%) and for the UK’s digital skills to be improved (45%). If these were addressed, global business leaders would increase their trade with the UK by almost a third (28%). The UK being better at digital is most important for business leaders in China (64%).

Richard Heggie, head of high growth and entrepreneurs at Barclays, comments, “This shows UK entrepreneurs are held in high regard by business leaders globally, particularly in Brazil, China and the US. However, it’s critical that, against the backdrop of Brexit, the UK does everything it can to maintain and crucially build on this. That includes capitalising on the trade relationships and investment opportunities that the research highlights in order to thrive.”